Q&A: Michael Rinaldi, Lindenhurst Class of 2012

The school year is ending, and from is here.

The will take the field at the to on , , at 6:30 p.m.

According to the , the Top 20 in the class included, in no particular order, Colleen Ames, Ajsha Mekulovic, Amanda Armbruster, Alissa Montalbano, Emily Crichton, Priscilla Morelli, Joseph Curry, Cassandra O'Connor, Alissa Eckert, Allison Perna, Briana Iannacci, Cassandra Price, Kerri Keeler, John Rinaldi, Raymond Kelly, Michael Rinaldi, Luke Konopka, Danielle Vozzo, James Lynn and Adam Wawro.

(See also the accompanying photos.)

They were recognized at the on , but Lindenhurst Patch spoke with a few of the of the graduating class.

Here’s what , who ranked third, had to say about making it to the top of class.

How does it feel to be ranked so high in your class?
“It feels good.”

What went into achieving this honor?
“A lot of hard work - it all paid off.”

In what activities were you involved?
“I was on the tennis team and made varsity my senior year. For the past four years I was also on the , which came in 28th out of 400 teams in the national competition this year. I was a programmer for the first three years, and then I was a human player in the competition this year. I was in the National Honor Society, and on the board as a community service representative. I also made this year.”

Where are you going to college and what are you studying?
“I’m going to Northeastern University and studying computer science and game design. Computer science will let me do practically anything, and game design is something I really want to do. In middle school I started game-making and coding, and [later] I was a programmer for the robotics team.”

What’s your advice for fellow classmates?
“Work hard. Never give up. There’ll always an opportunity out there.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“I see myself graduating college, and creating games and coding, for one of the big gaming companies, and maybe creating apps for phones like the iPhone.”